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A working Retirement, Suits me!

Work? Retirement? The meaning of life ... What’s it all about? As I reach 66, these are the topics I’m mulling over. With age comes wisdom but I still don’t have the answers.

So another year has gone by and each one passes faster than the previous one! Watched a programme on Bruce Forsyth last night entitled ‘Living with Brucie’. He’s 82 and going strong, exercising each and every day, eating moderately and working hard. His only concession to age is that he has three months off a year. Well I suppose as an octogenarian he’s earned it.

Two of my friends, (one is 75 and the other 81) both work like there is a tsunami behind them with 15 hours a day being the norm. Sadly I have lost a couple of my younger friends in the past year - both of whom had retired and put their feet up. I’m sure there is a cautionary message there the next thing you know is you’re in a funeral procession saying your last farewells!

I tried to retire about four years ago and quickly found my life revolved around breakfast, lunch and dinner and watching my fish in the garden pond. As much as I enjoyed the afternoon naps, what I did notice was how quickly I became unfit immobile and started to ache all over.

That was the end of my retirement and here I am at, 66, running and developing 50connect, working about 70 hours a week, worrying and elbowing my way around London with all the other commuters.

Am I happy? Well I’m certainly happier than I was mooching around my garden in the morning and the aches and pains have gone. Maybe I just don’t have time to notice them now. Humans it seems to me need to have an endless sense of purpose which they have to satisfy irrespective of whether they actually enjoy it.

When we start out in life we have the aspiration to better ourselves. After chasing the rainbow for 40 years you come to realise that it’s the journey that motivates you. Arriving isn’t important – it’s the journey that matters. So if you haven’t got one start travelling today!

A friend of mine told me that if you are looking for the meaning of life, never try finding it in things that money can buy. You will only find it among family, friends and enterprise.